Despite my wish to give football recruiting stuff a break for a few weeks, this has to be mentioned.

Scout.com is escalating the process by holding its All-American Combine on March 4 at the UPMC Sports Performance Complex on the South Side.

The timing makes sense, says Scout.com analyst Bob Lichtenfels, because colleges are already extending scholarship offers to top-flight juniors.

“Today, the way the kids are, a lot of them don’t want to participate in them later in the spring because they have a plethora of offers,” Lichtenfels said. “You have to pick the lesser of the evils.”

That was the case last spring, when Baldwin’s Jason Pinkston and Justin Hargrove skipped the adidas and Nike combines, as well as Joe Butler’s Metro Index camp. All three are typically held in late April or May.
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The early date is one way for Scout.com to stay a step ahead of its combine competitors, especially considering that Nike is aligned with Rivals.com.

“We try to pick it strategically,” Lichtenfels said. “There’s only so many Saturdays during the evaluation period that the coaches can come. It gives enough time to get away from the other (combines). When they’re in Pennsylvania, we’ll be out West or down South. It doesn’t make sense for everyone to compete for the same kids.”

These combines could be heading for extinction, or at least severe restructuring, though. Back in January at the American Football Coaches Association convention there was been a lot of talk about these combines as Bruce Feldman notes (Insider Subs.).

Anyhow, this week in Dallas at the AFCA (coaches convention) a proposal was put forth that could prohibit Division I colleges from actually hosting these combines.

I think this is a shrewd move because any hosting campus get a very unfair advantage over colleges that don’t.

Last spring, I was at a combine at Penn State with a recruit that said he had no plans of visiting State College, but was there solely for the combine. (Penn State was holding its junior day the day before the combine too, and to its credit, PSU did an impressive job.)

Places like USC, Texas A&M, Miami and a handful of others get an added opportunity to showcase their programs and their facilities that other schools miss out on. Coaches from all over the country flock to the sidelines of many of these combines, even though they aren’t able to formally communicate potential recruits. The thinking that at least they get to eyeball a kid in person.

That’s the plan anyway.

“You really don’t learn anything by seeing the kid go through those one-on-ones,” says one Big 12 assistant. “Most times the quarterbacks they’re going with can’t even get it near them anyhow. Basically, you’re there just so they can see you and that they know you love them. You gotta represent, you know?”

Of course, this doesn’t mean that all combines will be shut down, and I don’t think they should be. Some of these are run by good people and some kids do benefit from them, but many of the ills seem to multiply in number each offseason.

That said, one of the bigger frustrations shared by the Big Ten head coaches focuses on some recruiting gurus using college campuses as backgrounds for staging group photo shoots. Their claim was that certain outsiders have apparent allegiances to some schools and can create situations in those schools’ favor. This, too, becomes another de facto college visit and appears to be much harder to legislate against. And then there is the growing concern over street agents.

“I don’t know if this is gonna really get at what we think is the real problem,” says one Big East assistant, “which is that football is getting too much like basketball with all these entourage, hanger-on guys. It’s like whoever you talk to now tells you ‘You gotta talk to such-and-such for me.’ And that guy is handling like three kids. One may be a kid you want, but the guy has two other kids who probably aren’t scholarship kids and the guy will keep saying, ‘I’m not an agent. I’m not an agent. I’m just here to help these kids get qualified or so they know what courses to take or just to give them a ride.’ It’s [expletive] weird, man.”

Anyone know when Pitt is hosting a junior day?

Joe Schad also noted similar things at the meetings regarding the combines:

It also turns out that coaches like lively debate. I realized this while sitting in on a meeting of Division I-A assistant coaches. They debated the merits of attending “combines” for high school players (not much of a debate, actually. They want to make it a violation for coaches to attend them).

“By 2007, we will be out of the combine business,” said Notre Dame assistant coach Rob Ianello, who is a Stepinac High grad (a rival of my St. Francis Prep) I must point out and is greatly respected as the leader of the assistant coaches organization.

The combines will continue. I don’t see how they won’t. But, I won’t be surprised if Div. 1A schools can no longer host them.

One other useless piece of information. The AFCA has a board for schools to post open schedule dates. Pitt posted something in 2004, and my guess is they haven’t gone back to updated it. Right now it reads:

Posted: 2-16-04
University of Pittsburgh
2008: 8/30, 9/6, 9/13, 9/20, 9/27, Home
2009: 9/5 Home or Away
2010: 9/4, 9/11, 9/25, 2 Home, 1 Away
2011: 9/3, 9/10, 9/17, 9/24 Home and Away
2012: 9/1, 9/8, 9/15, 9/22, 9/29, Home and Away
Contact: Jason Lener, Assistant AD

At least I hope they haven’t updated it in a while.

The Cinci-Pitt game was by far, Pitt’s fastest paced game of the season.

Pitt

Poss 79.3 Pace Fast
O-Rating 112.2 D-Rating 87.0 (Eff. Margin +25.2)
eFG% 62.3 PPWS 1.27
A/TO 1.1 TO Rate 22.7% A/B 59.4%
Floor Pct 54.7% FT Prod 31.6

Cinci

Poss 78.2 Pace Fast
O-Rating 88.3 D-Rating 113.8 (Eff. Margin -25.6)
eFG% 45.3 PPWS 0.98
A/TO 0.8 TO Rate 20.5% A/B 44.4%
Floor Pct 43.8% FT Prod 17.2

No shock that Pitt’s offense was going very well yesterday. It’s interesting, compared to their season numbers. The Effective Field Goal% and Points Per Weighted Shot were much higher than average (50.3% and 1.08).

Pitt’s possession per 40 minutes is 69.0, and Pitt was slightly more than 10 over that for this game. That’s big to have had 10 extra opportunities. Especially since Floor % and FT Production were close to the average.

Despite having 19 assists, the team’s Assist to Baskets % was lower (67.4%) because Pitt made so many shots. Despite Pitt’s 18 turnovers, the TO Rate wasn’t that much higher than normal (19.5%).

As is usual in Pitt wins, Pitt got to the line. They were aggressive and forced the other team to foul rather than let them shoot. Of course, Pitt was aided by Cinci twice fouling on 3-point shots. Rarely see that once in a game, let alone two times.

Other numbers that stood out. A by-product of Aaron Gray’s 6-7 shooting, was that 0 of his 10 rebounds were offensive. Also a factor was that Pitt shot better than 56 % for the game. Still, Gray gets a fair amount of offensive rebounds following his own shot. Only missing once, limits those opportunities.

Pitt’s defense really did a fine job against Cinci, even though the Bearcats shot 42%. Cinci turned the ball over 16 times, more than they usually do. Going into the game, Cinci turned the ball over an average only 11.625 times/game. The perimeter defense was very good as well, forcing Cinci to go inside more.

Part of why Pitt was able to have its way so easily with Cinci, was that Cinci’s defense was put in an unfamiliar position of playing zone to try and limit Aaron Gray.

Even though they struggled with several Panthers, UC simply had no answer for 7-foot Aaron Gray, who finished with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting and 10 rebounds.

“We gave up 89 points and we had to play more zone than we’d like because we had no answer for Aaron Gray,” Kennedy said.

While Gray had a good start, leading scorer Krauser had a quiet first half with just three points, before finishing with a team-high 18.

“They’re the epitome of a good team. They have other options if Krauser or Gray, their marquee guys, are just OK. … As a result they go to their bench and they find options,” Kennedy said. “We’re very dependent on our core guys, and with the exception of Jihad Muhammad, I’m not sure the rest of them played the way they need to play for us to even be competitive in a game like this.”

Showing they had no answer to Pitt was set right at the start when Pitt got the rebound off Cinci’s first shot,the whole Cinci defense moved out to defend the perimeter. Ramon fired a pass to Gray alone under the basket. He looked around genuinely stunned that there was no blackshirt near him before putting it in the hoop.

Pitchers and catchers report this week — something of a trade-off for Valentines Day I guess. But there’s still a little time before then for the columnists to write things about Pitt. Since they haven’t for a while, they need to ease into things.

Ron Cook does one on Krauser. Hey, did you know Carl came back for his senior year? Man, haven’t heard much about that this season.

Hey, give the man a break. Dixon freely admits he fudges the numbers with Krauser. He insists on counting Pitt’s 29-6 record in 2001-02 in Krauser’s total even though Krauser redshirted that season. “If you saw us practice that season, you know he made us better as a team and Brandin Knight better as a point guard,” Dixon said.

But even if you use conventional arithmetic, Krauser’s success at Pitt is extraordinary. At 19-3, Pitt is one win from its fifth consecutive 20-win season.

“And Carl has been a big part of all five,” Dixon said. “That, to me, is what it’s all about.”

It’s clear the young Pitt players, including three freshmen and two sophomores in that 10-man rotation, follow Krauser the way he once followed Jaron Brown and Julius Page, and Knight before them. You see it in the little things. Krauser quickly made peace with Gray yesterday. “I told him it was my fault. I should have given him a bounce pass.” You really see it in the big things. No one practices harder or plays with more passion than Krauser.

“The guys feed off his experience and knowledge,” Dixon said. “They trust him, They believe in him.”

And they have learned well from Krauser.

No, to be fair, Krauser deserves plenty of love right now. There are only two more home games left. That’s actually kind of hard to believe. Krauser no longer playing at the Pete.

The other piece from Joe Starkey after busting out the Howland comparisons for the team last week, gives Dixon a puff piece of how he’s coming into his own.

It’s not just the X’s and O’s, or Dixon’s masterful manipulation of the bench (Keith Benjamin was the hot reserve yesterday, with a career-high 16 points). It’s the way he has embraced his role as the public face of the program.

Previously, Dixon’s news conferences often consisted of him scratching the back of his right ankle and the back of his neck while staring at the floor and mumbling non-answers. He won plenty of games, of course, but public relations are an important part of running a big-time college athletics program.

This year, suddenly, Dixon has assumed the public persona of a self-assured, ultra-confident, well-spoken boss. Kind of like his mentor, Ben Howland.

I’m convinced Pitt enlisted somebody to coach Dixon on improving his public relations skills. Long hedged on that question, saying only, “As Jamie has gotten more and more comfortable leading the team, he’s been able to focus more on his public image. … I think he’s matured both on and off the court in leading the program.”

Long acknowledged that he and Dixon had discussed the public-relations issue during the offseason. Now, it seems about time they talk about a new contract. Dixon hasn’t received one since he replaced Howland three years ago. His current contract runs a few more years. The prudent move would be to lock him up (as much as that’s possible these days) with a fat, new deal.

Well, I wouldn’t go so far as to say “ultra-confident.” He has, though, looked more relaxed and at ease in post-game interviews and when doing interviews. The worst I’ve seen him do was his appearance on “Jim Rome Is Burning” a few weeks ago. He looked like someone who had been, uh, coached to remember to smile the whole time. Otherwise, only once in the course of the interview did he sound like someone who was trying to recite key talking points rather than have a conversation.

I do agree with Starkey, though, that I think someone in the Athletic Department got him some help in the public speaking and dealing with the public. Either that or he got some help on his own. The change has been too dramatic.

For those of us watching the game on ESPN Full Court, we were treated to a less then stellar production. What with effed up involuntary closed-captioning gibberish bouncing all over the screen for stretches throughout the game — including several minutes of a band of letters, symbols and numbers right in the middle of the screen. I guess the bright side of a C-level production crew on the game was they managed to miss a chance to put Bob Huggins on the screen.

Former UC coach Bob Huggins was at the game. Huggins stopped by the Bearcats’ practice Saturday afternoon. Former UC president Joseph Steger was also on hand.

Any doubt that he was in attendance with his close friend and local AAU Coach J.O. Stright? Wonder if he just happened to run into Aliquippa Junior Herb Pope while with Stright during the weekend?

They were able to point out Steeler Kicker and Tar Heel grad, Jeff Reed decked out in a Pitt sweatshirt and knit cap, though.

For Cinci, this was a beating and they were left wondering many things.

The beating was so thorough that interim head coach Andy Kennedy said he thought the Panthers (19-3, 8-3) actually toyed with his team.
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The Panthers compensated for their sloppy play by making 56.1 percent of their shots, and 7 of 17 from 3-point range. They also out-rebounded the Bearcats 43-25.

“They just gave it to us,” said UC forward Eric Hicks.

While Hicks, who re-twisted his right ankle early in the game, talked with reporters, the rest of the UC players filed somberly out of the locker room, down the hall and out to the bus for the five-hour ride home.

“We’ve still got games left,” Hicks said. “We’ve just got to win three. It’s still the same thing. We just can’t get blown out no more.”

They have 5 games left to win 3 and finish the season 8-8 in the Big East. Those games are at Syracuse, Providence, Villanova, at Seton Hall and then WVU. It will be dicey. They were just completely outmanned yesterday. White played 33 minutes on a sprained ankle and Hicks played 31 less than a week after a concussion. They really had no chance in this game.

Pitt led for nearly the entire game — the teams were tied twice during the first two minutes — and enjoyed a 43-33 halftime advantage, behind nine points each on a combined 7-for-8 shooting by Gray and Ronald Ramon, who finished with 14 points.

“They dominated us in every area,” Cincinnati interim coach Andy Kennedy said. “They played extremely well. Our team’s margin for error is such that we certainly can’t approach the game with a tentative mindset. Today, we were on our heels the whole game fighting uphill.”

Cincinnati (16-9, 5-6) made a run in the second half, closing within 48-42 before Benjamin ignited a Pitt rally with a 3-pointer, and the Panthers soon established a double-digit cushion for the rest of the way.

Three free throws by Ramon, who posted his third double-figure performance and sixth in the past eight games, moved Pitt, which won its 15th consecutive home game, to a 71-58 lead with 6:37 to go.

Ramon and Benjamin combined to hit 6-of-7 shots from 3-point range, where Pitt finished 7 for 17 (41.2 percent).

While Krauser ended up the leading Pitt scorer with 18, the story was Keith Benjamin coming off the bench to get 16 points.

“When you have a deep bench like we have, it’s kind of hard to play against us,” said senior guard Carl Krauser, who led the Panthers with 18 points. “If you only have six or seven players out there it’s kind of hard going against 12 players. All 12 guys can play and do everything the starters do. They come with great energy and compete so hard. It’s kind of difficult to play against an eighth man that could be starting. That’s a different look we have this year. That’s the type of look that’s going to help us have a good run this year.”

Benjamin was the bench star yesterday, but there is a long list of reserves who have carried the team in games this season. Antonio Graves led the team with 19 points in a win against Marquette. Levance Fields led the Panthers with 13 points in a road win at Louisville. Sam Young has scored in double figures in five of 11 Big East games.

“I think collectively, much more so than individually, is where they beat you,” Cincinnati coach Andy Kennedy said. “Today, for example, they come off the bench with Keith Benjamin. He provided the spark that really started them. I thought Benjamin and the guys they brought off the bench gave them lifts and were factors throughout.”

Benjamin was 5 for 7 from the field and 3 for 3 from 3-point range. When Krauser was struggling in the first half — he was 0 for 6 from the field and had three points at the intermission — Benjamin scored his seven first-half points in about a two-minute span midway through the half. His quick outburst gave Pitt a 21-9 lead with 10:51 remaining in the first half.

In the second half, Benjamin made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions that turned a six-point game into a 12-point game in a little more than a minute.

He did all of his damage in only 18 minutes.

Benjamin said the game plan was for Pitt’s reserves to maintain a frenetic pace because Cincinnati (16-9, 5-6) does not have the manpower to compete with Pitt’s talented bench. Kennedy used a walk-on yesterday who is a tight end on the Bearcats’ football team. Connor Barwin played 19 minutes and has been on the team less than a month.

“We have a 10-man [rotation],” Benjamin said. “We can go out and get the job done. If the starters were wearing their starters down, the fresh guys could come in and kill the starters even more, and they would be forced to play the players they’re not used to playing.”

That strategy was painfully run down Cinci’s throat. It may be employed again on Wednesday against Providence. Another team short on the bench. They have 3 starters playing 30+ minutes a game (McGrath and Curry are playing 36+ in BE Conference play). I will be very curious to see how Pitt shoots from the perimeter on the road.